How We lost Over N63.5m To Abuja Market Fire- Traders

Goods worth over N63.5m were lost to the fire outbreak that ravaged some part of the popular building materials market in Gwarinpa in the Federal Capital Territory.

Some of the traders who spoke to THE WHISTLER said that the fire destroyed all the goods in their shops. Some of the goods destroyed are cement, paints, chemicals, plywood, various types of Medium Density Fibreboard, sewing machines, generators and fridges.

A trader who gave his name as Jide Ofor said nothing in his shop was spared by the fire.

He told THE WHISTLER that goods worth over N63.5m were lost in the shops that were burnt.

Speaking about the incidence, Ofor said, “All that is left for me is for us to start afresh as long as there is still life.”

The trader explained that the fire started around 1.00AM on Thursday, but added that they were alerted at about 2:30AM, which is over an hour when the fire commenced.

He said “I was sleeping when the security called around 2:30AM that fire had razed our shops. I rushed and what I saw almost caused me a heart attack. There was fire everywhere. Nobody could penetrate and we couldn’t even do anything.

“Fire fighters were not on ground. We had to do their job. We broke a water board pipe and used it to calm the situation. Another painful aspect is that even with the electric spark and explosion, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company still left the light which worsened the whole situation.”

Although the actual cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, Ofor said the “fire seems to be an electrical fault. We are suspecting the cause to be from an electric spark. “

He added, “My 200 bags of cement, I lost all my paint, two Dangote tarpaulin which we sell N100, 000; oil paints and chemicals were all burnt, personally I lost N1m. My in-law who sells plywood, appliances and assorted Medium Density Fibreboard, lost everything.

“His shop is worth over N30m. My neighbour that sells white cement, Plaster of Paris lost over N10m. The neighbour by my right who sells sewing machines of different types, generators and fridge lost everything. A total of nine shops were razed.”

For Emma Ogbonna who claimed to have lost N22.5m worth of goods, the incident came to him as a huge shock.

Ogbonna who disclosed that he has so many dependants, said he was just trying to recover from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on his business.

Ogbonna said, “It is so sad that as a family man and with the Covid-19 pandemic this happened. My children have to go back to school. There is nothing I can do about it. All my hope is in God, but by God’s grace I will bounce back. I appeal to the government to come to our aid at this point in our lives.

“Based on the goods I had before Thursday, I have lost N22.5m. From December 31, 2020, to January 19 this year, I have offloaded four trucks of Plaster of Paris cement and fillers. Each bundle of the filer is N250, 000 and I had about forty bundles.”

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